Home Secretary writes about new counter terrorism measures

Today, the Government announced tougher sentencing and monitoring in an overhaul of the response to terrorism.

The Home Secretary has written in the Sun about how these measures deliver on promises to keep the public safer.

She wrote:

Two months ago a convicted terrorist went on a murderous rampage at Fishmongers’ Hall.

He brutally ended two promising and brilliant young lives, causing catastrophic and lifelong harm to their loved ones and all those affected.

Their loss is unthinkable. We must do everything in our power to help them and stop others going through the same torment.

My job as Home Secretary is to keep people safe and that means confronting some cold hard truths about our homeland security.

So, when I visited London Bridge with the Prime Minister in the aftermath of this atrocity, we immediately vowed to take a fundamentally new approach.

Sadly, terrorism knows no boundaries. Violent and hate-fuelled extremists use an ever-increasing range of tactics: vehicles, knives, bombs, guns or even the improvised blades suspected in the attack at Her Majesty’s Prison Whitemoor.

The nature of the threat we face is diverse and we must respond with all the tools we can to catch terrorists, lock them up for longer, and stop them posing an ongoing danger to the public.

That’s why, with the Justice Secretary, I am today launching the largest overhaul of our response to terrorism in nearly two decades.

There will be tougher sentences for the most serious terrorist offenders and we’ll keep them behind bars for longer by ending early release.

We’ll keep much closer tabs on those who are let out, with tighter restrictions and longer licence periods.

Lie detector tests mean offenders will no longer be able to con their way to freedom by bluffing that they have changed.

We’re also empowering our agencies with the tools they need to fight back with more money for CT policing and double the number of specialist parole officers.

And we’ll ensure people continue to be kept safe with an independent review of the way we deal with convicted terrorists.

Above all else, victims will come first, with an urgent review of the help they receive.

They are the people that matter, and they are why we are doing this.

I am utterly unapologetic about getting tough on terrorists who want to destroy our way of life.

I refuse to put their rights above those of their victims.

Have no doubt: if you seek to attack our people, destroy our families and tear our communities apart then your punishment will be severe.

There will be no more soft sentences and no more roaming the streets unrestricted.

After Fishmongers’ Hall we made a promise to honour the victims of terrorism by preventing further tragedies.

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Home Office in the media is the Home Office's blog on the latest topical home affairs issues. It features a review of leading media stories, responses to breaking news, rebuttal to inaccurate reports, and ministerial comment.